Veteran Safety Pegged as Best Free Agency Fit for Giants

While most of the attention has been focused on what the New York Giants plan to do at quarterback once free agency begins next week, there are other glaring needs the team must address to help get back on track.

One such need is safety. Jason Pinnock is a pending unrestricted free agent, and the odds of him returning to the Giants are not very encouraging.

If he departs as expected, that would leave second-year pro Tyler Nubin as one of the starters and Dane Belton as the ones with the most game experience on the Giants roster.

With that in mind, Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame, a new column in which he picks one good fit for every team, has Dolphins pending free agent safety Jevon Holland as his choice.

“Last offseason, the Giants lost Xavier McKinney to a big-money deal with the Packers,” Verderame wrote.

“After muddling along with mediocre safety play in 2024, landing Holland would be a huge get for New York. While Holland has never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, he’s one of the league's better, more well-rounded safeties.

“The question on Holland is whether he commands a top-dollar deal or if the market brings his price down under a market-setting cost.”

The idea of landing Holland isn’t a bad one on the surface. But realistically, it’s hard to see the Giants doing so for multiple reasons.

First, as Verdereame noted, the Giants opted not to get into a bidding war for McKinney last offseason, which revealed general manager Joe Schoen’s thoughts about how much of a premium he has on spending on the position.

McKinney signed with the Packers for an APY of $17.85 million. This amount was not only too rich for the Giants' tastes but also became impossible once the Giants decided to trade for and extend outside linebacker Brian Burns.

Holland, meanwhile, has an estimated market value of $15.1 million per year. With the Giants having more glaring needs at cornerback, guard, and quarterback, among others, it’s hard to fathom them spending that kind of money for a safety who finished with a career-worst 111.3 NFL coverage rating and failed to record an interception for the first time in his career.

If the Giants get a safety via free agency, they will probably shop in the bargain area for a lower-cost veteran who can step in as a starter alongside Nubin.

There is always the draft to fill the need, but this year’s safety class isn’t as deep as it’s been in years past, so a lower-cost veteran signed to a one- or two-year deal might make more sense for the Giants for this position.

Other noteworthy suggestions from Verderame include the pending Giants free-agent edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, as a good option for the Packers. The Giants are not believed to be looking to re-sign their 2021 second-round pick, who, while still young and talented enough, has battled injuries for most of his first four years in the league.

Verderame also has pending Giants free-agent receiver Darius Slayton linked to the Los Angeles Rams as a complement to Puka Nacua once the Rams officially move on from Cooper Kupp.

Perhaps the most interesting projection Verderame makes is that he has quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has been strongly linked to the Giants of late, going to the Tennessee Titans.

If this move comes to fruition, it could sway the Titans to be more willing to trade down or simply pass on a quarterback in the draft altogether.

The free-agency negotiating window begins on Monday.

Veteran Safety Pegged as Best Free Agency Fit for Giants

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